Mountain Peak System: a Path to NBA

In the Mavericks' paint, it's time for a rim-rattling show.

Bam——!

At the Oracle Arena, Qin Yue dashed into the Mavericks' basket with three giant steps and ignited the scene with a one-handed gliding dunk.

On ESPN, Hardaway exclaimed: "When the Messiah perfectly combines skill with physical talent, as he himself said, there's nothing he can't achieve."

Avery Johnson spent an entire summer designing a defense specifically for Qin Yue, yet it took less than half a quarter to prove why theory is just theory.

Thus...

During the latter half of the quarter, the Mavericks could only obediently resort to a zone defense.

Seeing this, in the ESPN studio, A. Smith immediately turned his attention to another special guest—Jeff Van Gundy, who announced his resignation after Yao Ming's trade this summer and is preparing to transition to commentary.

"Hey, Jeff, we all know the Messiah is a zone-breaking expert in the league today. Could you analyze the Warriors' zone-breaking strategy just now from a professional perspective?"

In response, Van Gundy said: "This was a standard way to break the zone through high pick-and-roll..."

At this moment, instead of analyzing how the Warriors broke the Mavericks' zone, Van Gundy preferred to share a story of growth and transformation.

This summer, with the skepticism of a professional, Van Gundy independently reviewed all of last season's Warriors games.

It was a review that left Van Gundy pleasantly surprised.

Because while studying the Warriors, Van Gundy found...

Qin Yue, who recorded a triple-double in his career debut, showed passing and playmaking abilities completely different from the level he displayed later in the playoffs.

If, in his debut, the triple-double was somewhat forced, then through one game after another...he quietly accumulated the capital for transformation.

In Van Gundy's view, Qin Yue's rapid growth in playmaking was linked to the Warriors granting him significant ball-handling opportunities during his rookie season.

And his increasingly unstoppable ability to break zones is credited to the other twenty-nine NBA teams.

"Jeff, are you saying that even during last season's regular season, NBA teams were already aware that the Messiah's mismatches always gave them headaches?"

Van Gundy nodded: "At that time, we wouldn't use destructive force to describe the Messiah's on-court mismatch advantages. But when facing the Warriors, all NBA teams had already tacitly used zone defense as a way to limit the Messiah."

Growing through one game after another and constantly evolving in the face of challenges from NBA teams.

Van Gundy was well aware that the transformation Qin Yue completed during his rookie season was no accident.

Because having accumulated playmaking experience since college, he simply needed a process of change from quantity to quality.

Maybe in the NBA, no matter how much time or opportunities you give some players, they just can't grasp the essence of playmaking.

But the reason geniuses are called geniuses...

Isn't it because that so-called talent cannot constrain or challenge those geniuses?

On ESPN, after listening to Van Gundy's insights, A. Smith smiled and said: "Jeff, according to you, didn't NBA teams dig their own grave?"

Van Gundy added: "To defeat opponents who always use zone defense against the Warriors, I think the Messiah surely put in a lot of hard work."

Talent is important, but Qin Yue's perseverance in studying tactics is indeed the key to his gradual growth into a playmaking master.

During last season's matchups with the Warriors, the veteran Jazz coach Jerry Sloan had repeatedly marveled at Qin Yue's impressive learning ability.

As the saying goes, there wasn't a single wasted day during Qin Yue's college days—whether from Prose or Paul, Qin Yue absorbed a wealth of experience from them, refining it into his own tactical knowledge base through continuous study.

"He completed his transformation just before the start of last season's playoffs, but people's attention was drawn to the 71 points he scored towards the end of the regular season, overlooking the transformation he achieved through long-term accumulation."

Yes, compared to the more straightforward, visibly evident athletic talent that only needs a little activation, Qin Yue's accomplishments in playmaking were a result of extensive accumulation.

From his sophomore year to junior, and then to his rookie season.

Not until his playmaking talent was fully activated at the higher level of competition did he transform into a true inside magician.②

(②: This setup comes from Chapter 71 of the original text, where it was mentioned twice that after entering a higher level of NBA games, Qin Yue's passing and vision began to improve rapidly)

In the latter half of the first quarter, during a Warriors' offensive possession.

Dampier and Howard teamed up to block Qin Yue's low-post attack, immediately closing off Qin Yue's attacking angle with their combined defense.

However, the cunning Brown had already secretly positioned himself near the baseline.

This cooperation reflects the positive changes Mike Malone brought to the Warriors.

That is, when Qin Yue holds the ball in the low post, Brown must actively approach Qin Yue, creating a passing lane for him.

This was completely different from last season.

Because last season, the assists Qin Yue provided to Brown were more about Qin Yue's passes leading Brown's movement.

On the court, observing Brown's movement, Qin Yue didn't hesitate, immediately pressed the pass button, and gladly accepted this assist.